House Rules
General Rules XP Debt When spending XP, characters may enter into XP debt to cover up to half of this expenditure. Rules for XP debt can be found in Core pg 183. Training effects expand this to allow the entire expenditure to come from XP debt, along with generally coming with a reduction in training times. Additionally, major story related XP expenditures, such as the increase of Essence upon completing your Motivation, will generally be allowed to be payed entirely with XP debt, pending Storyteller approval. While technically there is no cap to how much XP debt you can enter into, excessive debt will decrease your chances of being allowed to use more for interesting ends. Don't make me charge interest, guys. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Dice Bonuses From Circumstances Easily-Overlooked Presence Method (230) invokes these, but there is no provision for them anywhere else in the rules! As there are no dice bonuses from circumstance, obviously this charm automatically succeeds, all the time. While I initially thought handling them like stunts might work, a better analogy might be superior equipment (365-6). Thus, a guard's alertness might be exceptional, adding one die to all Awareness rolls. Or he might not be quite so dedicated, but still paying a fine amount of attention, but only really to the main gate, and gain one die within the 'speciality' Watching the Gate. The consummate guard, refusing all distraction, investigating all oddities and also pumped full of thaumaturgical potions to maintain alertness and stamina, might have perfect attentiveness, and gain +2 Awareness, spotting Easily Overlooked Exalts and asking himself "how did this person really expect to get past me?" So what I'm proposing is that circumstances be invoked as if they were equipment, even in the absence of E-OPM. This blurs the line a little between equipment and stunts, but I think that is a Good Thing as it causes us to pay more attention to the setting even when dealing with extras. Vic says: Seconded, though probably worth noting that this doesn't mesh perfectly with Easily-Overlooked Presence Method, unless you also assume that the disguise (or whatever) the Exalt is applying can qualify as Inferior equipment (which I'm sure I recall seeing but cannot find in the rules... oh well, easy enough to derive by applying the inverse of superior equipment). Even then, there's no real provision for the example given in Easily-Overlooked Presence Method where a Blood-soaked Solar in Orichalcum Plate at a ball gives everyone a +3 circumstance bonus. Though I guess you could assume that they have a terrible (-2) disguise, and everyone there has fine attention (+1 speciality in What is She Wearing?). Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) *Shawn says: I'm not even sure this counts as a house rule, guys. Just a really badly written, hidden and subtle rule that technically is supposed to exist whether you know it or not. Anyway, rubber stamped for the look of it. Thaumaturgy *Degrees are reduced in cost to 5xp (or 4 if occult is favoured). This process grants no procedures. *Once you have purchased 5xp (or 4 if occult is favoured) worth of procedures within a given degree, the degree is awarded for free. *Once you have a degree, subsequent procedures with that degree cost no XP to learn, although still require the normal training time. *Specific knowledge of a procedure is required to perform said procedure despite knowledge of the appropriate degree. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Crafts as Regular Specialties I'm not entirely sure about how this one would work, but I saw someone mention it on the White Wolf Wiki and thought I'd put it up here with the rest of the XP-savers. Basically I gather the idea is that you pick up Craft as an individual skill, and then buy specialties in Craft in order to allow you access to a particular type of Craft. If we're going with Backgrounds = 3XP, then this seems like an essential houserule to avoid making Crafts completely gimped. *Leith: Our only confirmed Twlight has Craft: Wood (hur hur), and like no Exalt is going to take Craft: Water. The only reason Exalts can cook is they don't suffer unskilled penalties. Craft is an adjunct to most character concepts; to be a powerful crafter you only need one Craft, and then Magitech or Genesis later on. I lied about Water; a poisoner would take it. There are potential issues here but they only seem worth addressing if we actually have someone who's wanting 3 or more Crafts. And I'd prefer an XP discount on 'repurchases' of Craft; being an awesome swordsmith shouldn't qualify you for weaving. But yeah, let's not even talk about it unless someone encounters specific problems with their character concept. Status: Ask me again when it's relevant --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Combos Reflexive and Supplemental charms may be added to an already existing combo for a surcharge of 1xp each time the combo is amended. Multiple charms may be added to the combo at this time. Charms may be removed from a combo at this time for no cost (homework assignment - figure out why you'd want to) Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Half Price Excellencies. Excellencies are half price. During character creation, if you really want an odd number of Excellencies, round the bonus point cost up. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Backgrounds Allowed Backgrounds *All Backgrounds in the Core Rules. *Command (MoEP:DB 106) *Henchmen (MoEP:DB 110) *Reputation (MoEP:DB 110) *Retainers (MoEP:DB 111) *Face (Scroll of the Monk 152) *Others by specific Storyteller permission. You better have an amazing story for why you're allowed Abyssal Command, or else you will get the scowly face of doom. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:14, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Backgrounds with XP To allow players to introduce and alter setting elements, Backgrounds may be purchased for the cost of 3xp per dot.This might bypass the normal training times and roleplaying methods for gaining Backgrounds, though attempting to do so invites the wrath of the Storyteller. Far better to stunt well, fit into the story and gain bonus points to offset the cost. Players may go into experience debt to pay for no more than half the XP required, and may receive refunds for losing or surrendering the Backgrounds, or having them superseded by Storyteller-awarded Backgrounds. Accordingly, players should keep a record of which Backgrounds they have purchased themselves, including those purchased at character creation. As in all things, the Storyteller's adjudication is necessary, and should be exercised to keep Backgrounds realistic, related to the story, and proportional to the effort invested by players. This is in addition to the Storyteller's normal ability to simply award Backgrounds, free of charge, as part of the development of the story. Such awarded Backgrounds will obviously not yield XP if and when they are similarly revoked. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 05:44, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Merits and Flaws (Scroll of the Hero) Merits allowed, purchasable with bonus points or XP as appropriate. Flaws allowed with Storyteller approval, pending a good and in-character explanation as to why it is appropriate. Purchasing Flaws outside of character creation to gain extra XP requires double Storyteller approval - Ask at your own peril. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:00, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Exalted! Resources Resources can be increased via the 'Backgrounds with XP' houserules as detailed above. Like many other backgrounds, a successful extended dramatic action will generally be sufficient justification for this increase. To handle the purchasing power of entities of a national scale, the Resources background will be expanded to a 10 dot scale. As individuals will almost never (read as "never") have a resource rating of greater than 5 personally, the functioning of this rule should be entirely transparent as it applies to your characters. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 06:00, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Combat Damage Lethal attacks that do not exceed the target's lethal soak inflict dice of bashing damage equal to the attack's minimum damage. Lethal attacks which exceed the target's soak but by less than minimum damage do lethal damage as normal. Status: Approved for field testing --ShawnPoulsen 07:29, December 17, 2009 (UTC) *Edited for (what I hope is) clarity, removed discussion --VictorW 21:14, December 18, 2009 (UTC) Stunned Being stunned lasts until after your next action. This way being stunned actually does something. Status: Hire some competent editors, WW, jeez. --ShawnPoulsen 07:32, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Punching and Kicking Let's change the statlines for these two from "punch" and "kick" to "normal blow" and "strong blow", either of which can be performed with the hands or feet. Wuxia is too full of lightning-fast kick flurries for me to accept a literal treatment of the rules here. This house rule has no mechanical effects at all, and can in fact be freely stunted for without a 'house-rule' at all. Status: Irrefutable. --ShawnPoulsen 07:20, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Weapons Staves may be wielded as martial arts weapons. Status: Approved --ShawnPoulsen 07:29, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Errata The optional modification to the Conviction flaw of Invulnerability from Glories of the Most High shall be used. --ShawnPoulsen 07:41, December 17, 2009 (UTC) Category:Rules